The present invention relates to a roof ridge vent that enables air circulation from an underlying structure through a roof ridge, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a rollable roof ridge vent having wind baffles.
It is useful, and in many locales a building code requirement, that the attic area of a building be provided with a means to permit air exchange. Such ventilation prevents undue heat buildup, which can render the living quarters of the building uncomfortable and impose unreasonable energy requirements for cooling. Proper ventilation of the attic area also tends to preserve the structural integrity of the roof and roof coverings. One method of venting the roof structure consists of applying a venting media over a slot present along the ridge of a roof. These types of vents are known as ridge vents.
Examples of rollable ridge vents are provided by U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,595 issued to McCorsley et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,298,613 issued to Coulton et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,308,472 issued to Coulton et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,902,432 issued to Coulton et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,521 issued to Coulton et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,699 issued to Spinelli. These patents are owned, or co-owned, by Benjamin Obdyke, Inc., the assignee of the present application. Such a vent may comprise a continuous, indeterminate-length, openwork web, or mat, that is capable of being rolled lengthwise in a spiral roll after or during manufacture and unrolled lengthwise during installation on a roof ridge.
Another type of roof ridge vent is a sectional ridge vent having wind baffles. Vents having wind baffles promote air circulation through the vent when wind blows over the roof ridge. This is because the wind blowing over the baffles creates areas of negative pressure that draws air out of the attic through the vent. Typically, such vents are injection-molded of high density polyethylene in four foot lengths and include a solid elongate top wall capable of accommodating the pitch of the roof, a pair of opposed outer sidewalls having a plurality of ventilation openings, and integrally-formed, outer, upturned flanges functioning as wind baffles. During installation of sectional ridge vents, a plurality of the vents are secured end-to-end on the roof ridge longitudinally from one end of the roof ridge to an opposite end.
Examples of rigid, non-rollable, sectional vents having wind baffles or the like are provided by U.S. Pat. No. 1,717,728 issued to Moore; U.S. Pat. No. 2,200,031 issued to Lee; U.S. Pat. No. 2,214,183 issued to Seymour; U.S. Pat. No. 2,704,500 issued to Bonforte; U.S. Pat. No. 2,868,104 issued to Honholt et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 2,799,214 issued to Roose; U.S. Pat. No. 3,185,070 issued to Smith; U.S. Pat. No. 3,236,170 issued to Meyer et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,311,047 issued to Smith et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,481,263 issued to Belden; U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,657 issued to Sells; U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,399 issued to Cunning; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,325,290, 4,554,862 and 5,122,095 issued to Wolfert; U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,950 issued to Rudeen; U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,445 issued to Mankowski; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,957,037 and 5,052,286 issued to Tubbesing et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,761 issued to MacLeod; U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,692 issued to Shuert; U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,041 issued to Kasner et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,810 issued to Robinson; U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,579 issued to Rotter; U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,076 issued to Schiedegger et al.; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,288,269, 6,149,517 and 6,299,528 issued to Hansen; U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,502 issued to Smith; U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,848 issued to Nair et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,277,024 issued to Coulton; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,227,963 and 6,371,847 issued to Headrick.
Ridge vents that have baffles and that are rollable are disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,233,887 and 6,260,315 issued to Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 6,361,434 issued to Brandon, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0100232 A1 of Robinson et al.
The Smith '887 and '315 patents disclose roof ridge vents similar in appearance and structure to conventional, injection-molded, sectional ridge vents. To this end, they are molded of solid plastic material with a solid top wall, end walls, leg supports, and grooved vent apertures. The Smith vents have undulating sidewalls that form wind baffles and permit the vent to be rolled into a spiral.
The Robinson '232 published patent application discloses a vent similar to that disclosed by the Smith '887 and '315 patents. However, Robinson has vent apertures formed in its otherwise solid top wall and has sidewalls constructed of a plurality of staggered rows of separate V-shaped baffles. The V-shaped baffles of the sidewall permit the roof ridge vent to be rolled into a spiral configuration.
The Brandon patent discloses a rollable corrugated roof ridge vent that has separately attached wind baffles. The baffles are L-shaped in transverse cross-section, collapse and expand in an accordion manner, and are rolled with the corrugated vent into a spiral.
While the various ridge vents disclosed in the above referenced patents may function satisfactorily under certain circumstances, there is a need for an improved ridge vent that has wind baffles and that is provided in spiral rolls. The ridge vent should be capable of being provided in lengths enabling the installation of a single continuous vent along a roof ridge and should be capable of being readily and properly installed in a manner requiring labor skills possessed by the average roof installer. The ridge vent should have a low height profile yet provide an acceptable amount of air venting capacity, and should prevent the entry of weather, insects and the like into the ridge opening. In addition, the ridge vent should be capable of cost-efficient manufacture. For instance, preferably the ridge vent should be made in a continuous process that forms a single continuous vent and that does not require a plurality of separately-formed vent-sections to be secured together.
With the foregoing in mind, a primary object of the present invention is to provide an efficient and economical roof ridge vent that has wind baffles and can be provided in spiral rolls.
Other objects of the present invention are to provide a roof ridge vent that provides an acceptable amount of air venting capacity, that prevents weather infiltration, and that is capable of being readily and properly installed in a manner requiring labor skills possessed by an average roof installer.